Rainy Weather
by Door Is Ajar
Summary: Fighting a Youmu out in the rain leaves Kuriyama at a disadvantage and, eventually, sick. With a massive blood loss, Akihito finds himself taking care of this rain-soaked girl.


It was an easy Youmu. Weak, but fast. It wouldn't wear out the attacker as long as he was smart enough to not chase it round and round in circles. However, it was because of that very reason that it was worth a decent amount of money.

That, and the unknown ability that water- even in the form of rain- would increase its power. Kuriyama was told about it, and off she went.

Through the rain with Akihito trailing behind her casually.

The monster- with the appearance of a cat- was meandering around a walkway Kuriyama, as well as other many other students, would take to school. She came down form the upper path, where greenery could be seen, to the lower, where the Youmu was perched on a bench. The monster was quickly alerted to Kuriyama's presence, and it rushed around her, in between her and Akihito.

The only thing to alert them of its power growth was the slight glow around it as the rain touched its fur. However, it was obvious, none the less. And when the monster was able to block several swings- and force her to use more blood to replenish lost amounts- it was even more clear that this would be a harder Youmu than expected.

A good five minutes passed, and only a few minor scratches had been laid upon the Youmu. Kuriyama, on the other hand, was finding it difficult to remain on her feet. It was already a struggle battling in the rain, her shoes providing no grip. But now she was loosing blood- fast. She felt lightheaded and a shake was starting to engulf her body.

She needed just one good opening, enough to separate its head from its body. The fast beast bolted around her, and she felt herself spin to keep eyes on it. She nearly found her face in the cement, if not for the Youmu attacking, giving her leverage by way of the sword making contact with its teeth. More blood began to drip away from her sword, and she dislocated it from the mouth. She used a slight bit more blood to fix her sword, and she was sparring again.

Five more minutes passed, and the monster attempted the same trick: an attack from behind. This time, she positioned her sword to cut further away from herself: right through the Youmu's neck.

A flash of light, and the gem dropped heftily to the ground. She, however, had no plans to bend down and pick up it. Such a motion would leave the remaining blood in her body to rush to her head, and she knew she would be unconscious after that. The unrelenting shivering was more than enough of an indication of how much blood she used on this single Youmu.

Instead, she turned to face Akihito, who was already walking over to her. Apparently, she thought, he had no idea just how much really occurred in the battle. All he could see was a few blood marks on the ground and an unscathed Kuriyama. In his mind, she had simply taken a while to win the otherwise easy battle.

He was greeted by surprise as she began to collect her sword and fall to her knees. He could only quicken his pace and drop down in front of her.

Her buzzing ears could pick up a few words of what he was saying through his now-never ending babbling. "Are you alright?" was one thing hastily and quickly gouged out of his mouth.

"I-It's just the anemia," she answered. She was slowly sinking, curling further and further into her frail body,and she was out of life long enough for Akihito to rest her head in his lap.

"K-Kuriyama-san, just how much blood did you use? You're shaking, you know," he spoke.

"I-I don't know," she started. "A lot." She was drowning in a sea, and the only way to end the ever-closing feeling was to accept the unconscious state.

He wanted to meet her eyes, to talk to her personally. But she kept them closed, on her way to a black abyss as they spoke.

He shook her shoulders to fulfill that desire. "Open your eyes, _please_," he begged, close to a whisper. "Come _on_, just stay awake. I'll bring you to my place, alright?" Now he was rambling, trying to think up anything possible that would keep his mind running. "I'll cook up a big meal, and you can eat however much you need for your anemia. How does that sound?"

He was already reaching over and pocketing the gem, and he then wasted no time collecting Kuriyama into his arms to rush out of the rain and to home.

He ran as fast as his feet would carry him, which caused him to trip once or twice in the steady down-pour of rain. Of course, it proved difficult to enter his house; but if he positioned Kuriyama _just_ right in one arm, he could fish into the right pocket for his key, and then jam it into the lock. He firstly rushed to the back where his room was located. Placing her down gently on the bed, it was odd to feel the cold air make contact where her body had been. Of course, it made him realize the same must be for Kuriyama, and he covered her with a large blanket stashed under his bed.

Next he searched out the thermometer, positioned on the wall just outside his bedroom. He brought it up to a warm seventy five degrees- but then quickly brought it down to a neutral seventy. If Kuriyama happened to have a headache from the immense blood loss, something so hot would only be more of a nuisance. He returned to his room, just to check on her once more, and then to grab a change of clothes.

He made quick work, going into the bathroom and stripping- then finding it, along with the tiles below him, to be freezing. He replaced the sopping wet clothes with long black sleeping bottoms and a white t-shirt. Collecting the dripping pile from its location in the sink, he wrapped them in a towel to prevent any more of a mess on his way to the washing machine on the other side of his small space.

The mess was dropped into the machine, and, closing the lid, he started the cycle. It only took a moment, now in his warm, fluffy clothes, to realize that he was not the only one to have gotten drenched. Practically sprinting through his house, Akihito barreled through his door and stopped just in time to prevent a collision with his bed. He altered his course temporarily to collect another set of clothes: white sleeping pants (obviously a little too small by the fact they were at the bottom of his drawer) along with a black shirt (again, slightly smaller in size and discarded at the bottom of his drawer.) With the pieces of clothes, he returned to Kuriyama and started shaking her shoulder.

"Kuriyama-san," he whispered a few times.

Slowly she came out of her light sleep and met his eyes. "Senpai?" she asked softly.

"You need to change, you're still in wet clothes," he spoke.

He began to draw the (already drenched) covers back with a free hand as Kuriyama followed his advice and headed to the bathroom. He outstretched his right hand to gift the items, and she accepted with a drunken-like stupor away.

He looked down at his bed with a feeling of stupidity: Why had he tucked her in while she was so sopping wet? Taking the blanket and the the sheets, he threw them in the dryer while waiting for Kuriyama to finish changing. Headed back to his room, he waited by the bathroom door a moment, just long enough to gently say, "Wrap your clothes in a towel when you're done." In the meantime, he also searched out another blanket for her, which he found easily under his bed once more.

She exited just as he was going to the kitchen area. She handed him the clothes-filled-towel and followed him into the main section of his home. She found his couch to be comfortable enough and sat down on it while he discarded her mess.

"Lean forward," she heard Akihito speak behind her after a few moments.

She did as told, and a blanket was wrapped around her body.

It took another few moments for Akihito to return, who handed her a class of water. She looked at him strangely- which left him confused- but she took it nonetheless. He retreated back into the kitchen to get a glass for himself; and as he returned, he seemed to understand her uncertainty.

She was bringing the glass up to take a sip, but as she brought it down, her hand shook violently, which led her to quickly rest the bottom of it back onto her lap.

Akihito gave out a soft sigh before the slightest smile grazed his lips. He considered making her _something_ to eat, but he recalled the Sakura incident, how she found it hard to eat after loosing such a large abundance of blood. She picked at it, sure, but she needed time before her body would eagerly accept food. Instead he made his way to the couch, after plucking the TV remote off the table in front of the couch. He carefully pulled the left side of the covers off of Kuriyama and joined her in the cocoon, shivering at the coldness he just escaped from.

She momentarily glanced at him from the corners of her eyes, but decided against saying anything. His abundance of body heat was, literally, a warm welcome. She turned her attention on the TV as he turned it on, a cartoon station popping to life in a near muted-volume, which he chose to leave on.

It only took a good ten minutes before Kuriyama's head was finding its way onto his shoulder, her eyes shut in needed sleep. He grabbed for the glass in her hand and leaned forward, just enough to set both of them on the table.

Another ten minutes and he was out like a light with her.


End file.
